Miami Commissioner Carollo Defeats Residency Challenge
The challenge to former Mayor Joe Carollo's residency was filed too late to pass muster, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Thomas Rebull ruled.
January 22, 2018 at 12:45 PM
2 minute read
A judge dismissed a lawsuit against Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo Monday, finding the residency challenge was filed too late.
“The only way I can construe this case is a challenge to the qualifications of Mr. Carollo, which cannot be brought post-election,” Miami-Dade Judge Thomas Rebull said, ruling a complaint from Carollo's opponent, Alfonso “Alfie” Leon, failed on jurisdictional grounds.
The case was filed Nov. 20, two weeks after the general election and one day before the runoff between Carollo and Leon. Carollo, a former mayor, won about 53 percent of the vote for the District 3 seat.
Leon, an attorney, claimed Carollo didn't truly live in the Brickell apartment he leased one day before the cutoff to establish residency in the district. The judge heard testimony about utility bills and card swipes at the Brickell Station Lofts building.
Anticipating an appeal on the jurisdictional issue, Rebull also ruled in Carollo's favor on the merits of the case. He found defense witnesses testified credibly that Carollo moved by the cutoff date from the Coconut Grove home where he lived for more than a decade.
Rebull found the case was distinguishable from Perez v. Marti, a 2000 residency challenge stemming from a Miami-Dade County School Board election. In that case, the candidate had no lease, paid no rent and couldn't describe the premises where he claimed to live, Rebull said.
“I find based on the greater weight of the evidence that Mr. Carollo did establish his legal residence in the district one year prior to the election,” Rebull said.
Leon was represented by Juan-Carlos Planas of KYMP in Miami, a former member of the Florida House of Representatives. He was not immediately available for comment.
Carollo told reporters outside the courthouse that he “had no fear for today—I knew the judge was going to bring a ruling my way.”
His lawyer, Benedict Kuehne of The Law Offices of Benedict P. Kuehne in Miami, said he was calling upon the Miami city attorney to investigate a change to the city charter or an ordinance to prevent “bogus” post-election challenges.
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